The most striking shots of President Bush’s State of the
Union address Tuesday night were not of the president himself.
They were of the members of Congress: Republicans on one side,
Democrats on the other. And rarely were both sides’ applause
ever in sync.
It was a disheartening sight. True, politicians will inevitably
try to score points for their party during the State of the Union
by applauding or abstaining. But this spoke to the deep political
scars ““ between and within each party ““ that still
cripple this country.
When Bush was elected president in 2004 by a slim majority, it
was clear the United States was politically split. It was also
clearly up to Bush to find a way to heal the division.
Tuesday night, we were reminded of his failure to do so.
Tellingly, Bush mentioned “bipartisan” support only
twice in his speech.
To be sure, politicians from both sides of the aisle ““ as
well as the American people’s general attitude ““
deserve some of the blame for this. But Bush is our leader. We take
our cues from him.
A union, by definition, is a joining together of more than one
part. Bush insists that “the state of our union is
strong,” and from his podium he stares down at a divided
Congress and a divided people.
And so we rejoin: What union, Mr. President?